‘Ma petite’: 80% of French women face sexism in workplace

A report from France’s professional equality council details alarming sexism in the workplace, with 80 percent of women claiming to be victims. The French government has called these practices “unacceptable.”

A survey was carried out by the Higher Council of Professional
Equality (CSEP), which polled 15,000 French women in 2013. CSEP
has now come out with a report that details the impact of sexism
on confidence and performance in women, using the data gathered
earlier.

The majority of women in the French workplace say they experience
chauvinistic attitudes from men on a regular basis. These include
patronizing greetings, such as those followed by some diminutive
term, and a host of other things to do with sexist
decision-making by superiors and, of course, sexist jokes.

A lot of the things highlighted seem to be common to many other
countries – like asking a colleague if a stressed-out woman is on
her period. Others include things like: “It’s a Tupperware
meeting” (owing to see-through clothing), comments on
“polishing fingernails” or a particularly disliked or
aggressive female colleague being referred to as “worse than
a man” – something 82 percent of French women say they’ve
experienced.

The French seem to have a massive vocabulary of various terms of
endearment for women, which also made the list.

According to the authors, sexism “functions as a formidable
instrument of excluding women from the professional sphere,”
which they say affects their work.

According to the report, 93 percent of female workers support
that notion.

The authors do, however, concede that sexism is difficult to
define, and so fighting it is problematic. The boundaries between
acceptable and unacceptable acts, humorous and intentionally
hurtful ones, are blurred.

Three forms of sexism are highlighted: “hostile”, “subtle or
hidden” and “ambivalent or benevolent” sexism,
which is seen as condescending and paternalistic.

French Minister of Social Affairs Marisol Touraine, who received
the report from CSEP on Friday, has spoken out on the
conclusions, adding that common-or-garden sexism can be something
as ordinary as addressing a woman by her first name automatically
– that this is just as bad as ‘ma petite,’ or ‘my little girl.’

The report goes on to discuss sexism further and where it is most
prevalent, as well as offering a series of recommendations on how
to combat it. This includes measures to be taken against anyone
who flouts the regulations.